Automatic closure for receptacles.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMANDUS'PRIEBE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. I

AUTOMATIC CLOSURE FQR RECEPTACLES. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan.'22, 1907.

' Application filed September 24,1906- Serial No. 336,056-

citizen of the United States, residing at St.

Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Closures for Receptacles, of which the followin isa full, clear, and exact description, re erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

receptacle without any My invention has relation to improvements in automatic closures for receptacles;

and it consists in the novel constructionand, arrangement of parts more fully set forth 1n the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure '1 is a side eleva-,

tion of a receptacle with wall partly broken away, showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, parts -bei'n broken away. Fig. 3 is a middle vertica transverse section, with lid,however, swung to.

an open positiona'nd bottle' removed. Fig. 4 is a top plan of Fig.1. Fig. -5 is a horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of the top of the receptacle with the bottle inserted, the section being on line 6 6 of Fig. 4. Fi 7 is a vertical sectional detail on line 7 7 0 Fig. 2, and Fig. 8 is asection on the order of that shown 1n Fig. 6 with'the bottle on the verge of its lowest position and showing the top wings on the'verge of slippingoif the base of the neck of the bottle to assume their closed position as shown in Fig. 2. i

The present invention is specially designed to prevent the theft of bottles of milk delivered to a customer and generally left on the outside of the dwelling or store, the object of the invention being to provide a receptacle into which the bottle may bedeposited by the driver, the receptacle being provided With a closin or locking device which will securely lock t e bottle within the ossibility of abstraction by unauthorize persons. While specially designed for the purpose here designated, it will be apparent that its use is not limited thereto, but may be employed for similar and kindred purposes, all as herein will more fully appear'from the detailed description, which is as follows: Referring to the drawin s, 1 represents a box or rece tacle inclose preferably, on three sides, front and sides,) the same being provided with a hinged lid or top 2, mounted on the frontwall and closing rearwardly, the free edge of the lid being provided with looking catches or hooks 3, forming the terminals of a hinge-pin 4, carried by the lid, the middle of the pin being provided with a looped handle 5. The catc es are adapted to engage openings 6 6, formed in the upper transverse member 7, constituting the rear wall of the receptacle. The lid is provided with a large circular opening for the free and ready insertion therethrough of a milk-bottle B, this opening being normally and virtually closed by the win s or-shutters 8 8, hinged on the inside of the id along the sides thereof, the wings being normally forced to a closed position against the adjacent surface of the id by the springs 9 9, each s ringhavingits body portionv coiled about t e hinge-pin 1O of'iflth'e wing andlits terminals secured or engaging the wing and body of the lid, respectively. No claim is made to those details, as they are well understood by every mechanic. The adjacent edges of the wings are cut away or concaved a suitable depth, so

asto fully embrace the curvature of the base of the neck of the bottle. Adjacent to the centers of the concave edges are openings or slots 11 for a pur ose presently to appear.

Hinged along t e bases of the side walls of the receptacle on the inside thereof are bell- 'crank frames or members 12 .12, preferably bent to substantially the shape as shown out of a'single piece of wire, the vertical legs of said bell-cranks being formed by uniting the ends of the wires and forming adjacent to the ends so united limiting collars or shoulders 13, preferably of a sheet of metalpassed the bell-crank frames or members referred to are bent in planes making an acute angle with one another, so that when the vertical members rest'against the sides of the receptacle the horizontal or basal members will incline to the bottom of the receptacle, the said basal legs, moreover, crossing or overlap ing each other, as shown. The wire sides 0 the respective bottom legs pass through cutaway portions 14 of an annular rim or ring 15, soldered to the bottom, within which rim the bottle B. is received. The bell-crank members 12 are normally forced to an open positionthat is, with the vertical legs against the sides of the receptacleby a spring 16, coiled about a rod 17, soldered to the side over the ends of the wire and soldering them ICC wall to oneside of the member, one end of the spring bearing against the wall of the res ceptacle and the other bearing against the adjacent leg of the bell-crank. This manner of retaining the member 12 in an open posit1on, however, is a familiar construction in all spring-hinges, and I lay no special claim thereto, except that by crossing the basal legs of the frames a single spring serves to actuate both frames, one frame responding to; the movement of the other. The bottom of the rearof the box is provided with a staple 18, throughWhiQh may be passed a book 19, carried b the wall on which the box is susended, t e top of the rear edge of the lid also aving a staple 20 for the passage of a staple -21', towhich a padlock P-may be secured,

and thus lock the box securelyin place.

The operation of the device is as follows Su posing the receptacle to be empty, the millnr an forces the bottom of the bottle B against the wings 8, forcing them to an open a position and driving the bottle past t "em until. the bottom of the bottle rests against the upwardly-inclined basal legs of the bell-crankmembers or frames 12 Fig. 8.

.The weight of thefull bottle depresses the basal legs of the bell-cranks against the bottom wall of the receptacle, whereupon the side or vertical members rock toward the bottle, which is all the time descending. By this time the wings have assed the base of theneck of the bottle, an the latter offering no resistance to the upward oscillation of the wings said wings return to their normally closed positions against the lid, and now only the top .of, the neck of the bottle projects beyond or out of the receptacle, Fig/2. The vertical legs of the bell-crank frames have now snugly inclosed the sides of the bottle, which cannot be abstracted through the opening formed by the cut-away portions of the w ngs, because this open ng while suflicient for the neck is too small for the body of the bottle, and should an unauthorized erson t mpt to force the Wings inwar they ould be imited. by the ends of he ertical legs of the bell-cranks passing into the slots 11, when the collars orshoulders 13 on said legs would limit any further inward oscillation of the wings,' Fig. 6. So it will be observed that when the verticallegs of the bellcranks have encompassed or engaged the sides of the bottle the" ends thereof are in position to pass into. the slots 11 of the wings and arrest any further inward movement thereof by the collars 13,- carried by said bell: cranks, Fig. 8, so that the bottle cannot be abstracted until the owner unlockslthe padlock, removes the receptacle from its positlon, and opens the lid, when the bottle may be removed, Fig. 3. The removal of the bottle allows the bell-cranks to fly open ready to receive a fresh bottle at the next delivery, Flg. 2.

'upon withdrawalof the Having described my invention, what I claim is '1. An automatic closure for receptacles comprising a pair of bell-crank members composed of basal and vertical legs ivoted a suitable distance apart to receive the article to be inserted between them, meansfor automatically opening said members. to receive the article, the latter engaging thej-basal legs of the members for its lowest position and oscillating the vertical legs against the sides of the article, and means automatically en-v gaging the article at-a point above the bellcrank members and preventing its withpair of bell-crank members pivbers, the opposite legs will be forced into engagement with the sides of the v article, means for automatically engaging the article at a point beyond the bell-crank members for the closed ;or cngaging position of the said members, and springs for automaticallyforc- I ing the engaging legs of the members apart,

article, substantially 3. In combination with a receptacle having a lid at one end provided with an opening, springcontrolled wings hinged to the inside of the lid and opening inwardly and having concave inner edges for the free passage of a bottle, a pair of bell-crank frames having basal and vertical legs hinged on opposite sides of the bottom of the receptacle, the legs of the frames bein disposed opposite. th bottom, and side wals of the receptacle respectively, springs for forcing or oscillating the vertical legs a ainst the side walls, he asal g b ing di p at an a ute angle to the planes of the contiguous legs of the frames, collars formed at points contiguous to the free ends of the vertical legs, the ends of the vertical legs beyond the collars n aging tabl Qp mnss f m d n the wings in e f n unaut o i ed a temp t abstract the bottle, the parts operatingsubstantially as, and for thepurpose set forth.

4;. In an automatic closure for receptacles, a air of hinged bell-crank frames spaced a suitable distace a art for the reception of an article between t em and adapted tohave their opposite legs oscillated toward the article by a pressure of said article against the adjacent legs of the frames, substantially as set forth.

5. In an automatic closure for receptacles, a pair of bell-crank frames hinged a suitable distance apart with contiguous legs crossing each other at an intermediate point of their length, a spring for forcing the opposite legs sufficiently apart to permit the introduction the receptacle, opening wings of an article between them, the ressure of the article against the contiguous egs forcing the op sides 0 the article whe'reb' osite legs into engagement with the the latter is embraced; and means for loo 'ng said opposite legs in their engagingposition, substantially as set forth.

6-. In an automaticclosure for bottle-receptacles, a lid-having an openingfor the free passage therethrough of an article into spring-controlled inwardlyhinged on the inside of the lid, and having cut-away; portions to admit thebottle andpass snugly around the neck thereof, and means located in the receptacle for arresting the wings in an undue inward oscillation, imthe event of attempted abstraction of the bottle by unauthorized persons, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AMANDUS PRIEBE. Witnesses:

' EMIL STAREK,

Jos..A. MICHEL. 

